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The objective of this study is to determine how service marketing strategies affect enterprises in the tourism and hospitality industry, especially, operators in small towns that are not tourism destinations and visited only by small numbers of tourists.

This study investigates the impact of 4P strategy implementation on the potential and profitability of service operators in Nong Khai Province, Thailand, by using an econometric model and defining dependent variables in order to classify firm performance into 3 areas, namely, (1) revenue, (2) cost/expense and (3) profit—in log form.

Study results show that tourism and hospitality service operators have to place emphasis on “development,” starting from upstream processes such as research and development and utilizing local wisdom and reflecting cultural identities as well as focusing on downstream activities, including adoption of modern media. At the same time, operators should also emphasize marketing and sales promotions as well as seek publicity through websites and online social media in parallel with developing downstream activities.

This paper only focuses on Nong Khai Province as the research area because, first, Nong Khai has a relatively low income per capita and is located in Thailand's Northeast, the country's poorest region. Second, Nong Khai is a border province, adjacent to the Lao PDR, and thus there are numerous tourists from the Lao PDR and overseas countries who travel in and out of the province through the Thailand–Lao border checkpoints.

Relevant government agencies should provide support throughout the development process from upstream to downstream in order to upgrade the potential of tourism and service operators in this small province by incorporating local identities used for creation of service products and by supporting marketing and sales promotions whether in the form of organizing various exhibitions events, publicity via the Internet, etc.

Raising service standards of an organization and developing an acceptable quality brand and setting fair prices without taking advantage of consumers were strategies that played important roles. This set of strategies was implemented together with a development strategy for people also through the process of team building and knowledge management, including skill development through a training system, which also played an important role toward the sustainability of tourism and hospitality enterprises in Nong Khai Province.

It is believed that this paper is the first study to apply Stan Shih's innovation smiling curve in a small border province of Thailand. This study could shed the light for tourism and hospitality enterprises in a small and poor town in attempt to be the sustainability.

The purpose of this paper is to understand the antecedents of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) internationalization for a small set of Mexican ICT entrepreneurial firms, connected with subsectoral positions in a smile-shaped curve. Such antecedents constitute exploratory patterns related to simplified internationalization characteristics in terms of market choice, founder background and aspatial affiliations, providing a complementary technique to identify elements that shape SME internationalization in Latin America.

A value-added “smiling” curve is sketched according to North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) industry classification, mapping a non-probabilistic purposive sample of Mexican SMEs. The csQCA has been applied to the sample based on secondary data. Mexico’s ICT export behavior is also analyzed.

Internationalized SMEs in the sample tend to group in patterns that approach higher value-added positions in the “smiling” curve, exemplifying a type of non-geographic clustering. Particular groups seem to precede market selection (North America vs Latin America). The founder’s background does not determine internationalization choices. The sample included counterexamples (new entrants, limited cases involving research and development activities), which when analyzed suggest relevant literature validations.

This research contextualizes sectoral SME internationalization from a Latin American perspective, identifying simple patterns around particular ICT subsectors. It focuses on a type of international entrepreneurship that becomes exceptional in developing regions: technology-oriented. csQCA is presented as a preliminary (exploratory) technique to draw alternative theoretical frameworks for SME internationalization, specifically, market selection and aspatial cluster behavior around value-added chains, leading to new theoretical perspectives in SME internationalization.

Esta investigación persigue un entendimiento de los antecedentes en la internacionalización de la PyME para un pequeño conjunto de negocios mexicanos de TIC emprendedores, en conexión con posiciones subsectoriales en una curva con forma de sonrisa. Dichos antecedentes constituyen patrones exploratorios relacionados con características de internacionalización simplificadas, en función de la selección del mercado, los antecedentes del fundador, y las afiliaciones no espaciales, ofreciendo una técnica complementaria para la identificación de elementos que moldean la internacionalización de la PyME en América Latina.

Una curva de valor añadido en forma de “sonrisa” es delineada de acuerdo con la clasificación industrial SCIAN, mapeando una muestra deliberada no probabilística de PyMEs mexicanas. csQCA ha sido aplicado a la muestra con base en datos secundarios. El comportamiento exportador de México en TIC es analizado también.

Las PyMEs internacionalizadas en la muestra tienden a agruparse en patrones que se aproximan a las posiciones de mayor valor añadido dentro de la curva de la “sonrisa,” ejemplificando un tipo de conglomerado no geográfico. Ciertos agrupamientos parecen prevalecer respecto a la selección del mercado (América del norte vs. Latinoamérica). Los antecedentes del fundador no determinan las opciones de internacionalización. La muestra incluyó contraejemplos (nuevos participantes, casos limitados que involucran actividades de I+D), los cuales sugieren validaciones relevantes de la literatura una vez analizados.

Esta investigación contextualiza la internacionalización sectorial de la PyME desde una perspectiva latinoamericana, identificando patrones simples alrededor de subsectores particulares de TIC. Se enfoca en un tipo de emprendimiento internacional que llega a ser excepcional en regiones en desarrollo: orientado a la tecnología. csQCA se presenta como una técnica preliminar (exploratoria) para delinear marcos teóricos alternativos para la internacionalización de la PyME, específicamente, selección del mercado y comportamiento de conglomerados no espaciales alrededor de cadenas de valor añadido, llevando a nuevas perspectivas teóricas en la internacionalización de la PyME.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate factors that account for variations in the export performance between private‐owned enterprises (POEs) and state‐owned enterprises from the perspective of value chain.

The authors conducted empirical analysis with the panel data of 19 industrial sectors in China between 2005 and 2007.

This study finds that labor input, state ownership and vertical specialization have positive effects on export performance while capital and technology inputs have negative effects. In particular, the study found that the superior export performance of state‐owned enterprises to private‐owned ones can be mainly explained by their positions of vertical specialization in the upper stage along the industrial value chain.

The paper shows that, given the significance of POEs in China's economy and foreign trade, restrictions on POEs to enter certain high‐end industrial sectors should be relaxed and policy makers should undertake favourable policies to help POEs to engage in high‐end activities along the industrial value chain.

Although export performance has always been a heated topic in both economics and business studies, the value chain perspective has been rarely investigated and this paper fills the research gap.

This study aims to analyze social networking and network centrality in the case of community enterprises, which the existing literature has not addressed. To do so, the authors use the survey of community enterprises from the One Tambon One Product (OTOP) entrepreneurship program of Nong Khai border province in Thailand as a case study.

Social network analysis (SNA) is a tool to study and understand the relationship patterns of units of analysis, which can be individual, household, community or production units, and how those units interact through social or economic activities. Network positions are important when identifying the centralization of links in a particular network. If a representative is close to the center of a network, it is possible that the production unit will be able to contact or coordinate with a greater number of other members of the cluster, create knowledge sharing, promote collaboration and then typically demonstrate greater performance.

The results show that overall, local government agencies play a critical role in the community enterprise relationship network, while private entities are the least active group. Enterprises in partnerships with external agencies are mostly cooperating with branding and marketing dimensions, followed by the design dimension. There is no cooperation regarding production and distribution. Most community enterprises have established at least a one-dimensional network of cooperation with external agencies; only five community enterprises have isolated nodes with no partnerships having been created within this group.

The study was limited by the surveys having been conducted in a single area and, therefore, can be used only as a case study for this area. Surveys in larger group sizes and in a wider range of areas would lead to results with greater applicability and reliability.

These results bring to mind policy proposals to increase the competitiveness of community enterprises through the development of social networks as follows: firstly, knowledge should be created with community enterprise operators to understand their supply chains and analyze the strengths and weaknesses and core competencies of their enterprises; and secondly, enterprises should be educated about which agencies can assist businesses at each stage in the value chain system and encouraged to ask for help in adding value at each stage of production.

A “OTOP to Business Networking” platform for community and private enterprises should be created with projects/activities that offer venues to exchange business learning and opportunities. Holding meetings among people in a variety of business sectors may help inspire entrepreneurs to innovate to further their businesses, which can lead to networking businesses conducting activities across community enterprises and the private sector for the mutual benefit of producing merchandise for large customers and markets. Learning systems, production techniques and cooperation should be created, as well as opportunities to increase market share and profitability, if this platform is successful.

This paper is the first study, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, to utilize SNA to examine the use of social networking among community enterprises participating in Thailand’s OTOP entrepreneurship program in Nong Khai province. The results show that overall, local government agencies play a critical role in the community enterprise relationship network, while private entities are the least active group. Therefore, the government can play an important role in helping to develop a network of community enterprises with external entities at each stage of the value chain to enhance the competitiveness of each enterprise.

Although there have been many discussions on the status and development of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), theory on how they survive is minimal. Little is known about how OEMs survive and upgrade to other business models, such as original design manufacturers (ODMs) and original brand manufacturers (OBMs), in emerging economies. The purpose of this paper is to extend the theory on the survival path of OEMs from the perspective of emerging countries by examining how OEMs survive cost pressures and upgrade to ODMs or OBMs.

Using a multi-case study method, this study analyzes the survival path employed by OEMs by examining eight firms in the Chinese toy industry.

This study shows that OEMs remain weak in the global toy industry chain due to labor costs. While some OEMs move to low-cost regions, others turn to OBM management, after transitioning through an ODM model, by investing in research and development and marketing.

This study explores the survival paths of OEM enterprises, showing that OEMs can first upgrade to ODMs and then to OBMs, or they can directly upgrade to OBMs. Shifting from OEM to ODM is an important step in the transition process, although the contract that OEMs have with their foreign partners does not change significantly.